Gleason: Inspirational Loor runs to celebrate life

Myriam Loor ran from cancer. She ran like never before, straight through 4½ months of harsh treatments after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Kevin Gleason

Myriam Loor ran from cancer. She ran like never before, straight through 4½ months of harsh treatments after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Loor upped her weekly mileage to 35. She had never run more than 20 miles a week. She went into remission and a friend, Suzy Loughlin, sent a congratulatory bouquet of flowers with a note reading, "Celebrate Life, My Friend.''

Less than three years later, Loor organized the inaugural Celebrate Life Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile road race that starts in Rock Hill and ends in the hearts of participants and volunteers. More than 700 runners from all over the country wind through a gorgeous Sullivan County course knowing that every dime of proceeds assists cancer patients in treatment.

The 10th edition on Sunday already has raised $10,000.

Loor seems a bit perplexed by its popularity. Half-marathons are a tough gig to organize and to finish. Almost anyone can manage the 3.1-mile 5K distance. A half-marathon takes some digging inside, more a want than a whim. But they arrive in Rock Hill each March to tackle a challenge for a wonderful cause. And they arrive for Myriam Loor.

"Somehow "» I don't know,'' she said, sipping on coffee at a local Dunkin Donuts. "It's touching people. It's touched a nerve.''

Maybe it has something to do with the race director, a Monticello resident who came to the U.S. from her native Colombia at age 16. Loor is habitually pleasant and surely inspirational. She also is uniquely genuine and compassionate. You know how some people make you feel comfortable and confident, about yourself and about life? Myriam Loor does that. She is just so "» real.

"She is just a unique person,'' said Loughlin, who since 1992 has fabulously directed the Rhulen Rock Hill Run & Ramble each June in memory of her dad, Walter, who died in 1998 after battling leukemia. "She has taken a very bad situation and "» I don't want to say it defines her, but I think what defines her is helping others. She gives (the race) that personal touch. They don't just come because they love running.

"By the way,'' Loughlin adds, "she doesn't just do her race. Anyone who needs a volunteer, they call Myriam.''

She told husband Rene on their drive home from being diagnosed that she didn't want treatment. What's the point, she wondered, "if I'm going to die.''

The point, Loor quickly realized, was that people live with cancer. So she ignored any prognosis. She quit searching the Internet after finding an 11-month lifespan for those with a similar diagnosis. She ignored statistics.

Her remission lasted 11 months before the cancer came back in December 2002. She has been in remission this time since 2005, and after years of blogging hundreds of short essays, she used some to author a recently published book called, "Because It Is I.''

"It is something that I've seen or felt,'' she said of the essays. "It is a message of hope, faith and resilience.''

Loor will celebrate her 52nd birthday on May 23. She and Rene have two children in college. They are divorced now but the best of friends.

Long-distance running and organizing Celebrate Life are two crucial weapons in her fight. She started running in 1996 to train for Loughlin's race. Loor has done 13 marathons, give or take, not keeping track because numbers mean nothing compared to experiences.

"You are not alone in a race,'' she said. "There are so many people coming (to Celebrate Life) because of what it means. It really has become a symbol of survivorship.''

kgleason@th-record.com;

Twitter: @th_KevinGleason

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